Penguin presents the audiobook edition of
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, read by Arthur Morey. Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous - not just in the West but worldwide.

5 out of 5 stars

Essential listening

By
Timothy Lehmann
on
20-02-2018

How the Mind Works

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Mel Foster

Length: 26 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
37

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
35

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
35

In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

1 out of 5 stars

Not sure how this book became a best seller

By
Leigh
on
21-06-2017

The Better Angels of Our Nature

Why Violence Has Declined

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 36 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
161

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
143

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
143

We’ve all had the experience of reading about a bloody war or shocking crime and asking, “What is the world coming to?” But we seldom ask, “How bad was the world in the past?” In this startling new book, the best-selling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era in our species’ existence.

5 out of 5 stars

Epic

By
Simon Webster
on
30-07-2015

The Moral Landscape

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
201

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
175

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
168

Sam Harris has discovered that most people, from secular scientists to religious fundamentalists, agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, science’s failure to address questions of meaning and morality has become the primary justification for religious faith.The underlying claim is that while science is the best authority on the workings of the physical universe, religion is the best authority on meaning, values, morality, and leading a good life.

5 out of 5 stars

Sam Harris is the tits.

By
Amazon Customer
on
19-09-2016

Lying

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
198

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
167

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
160

As it was in
Anna Karenina,
Madame Bovary, and
Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption - even murder and genocide - generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie. In
Lying, bestselling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie.

5 out of 5 stars

I am no longer capable of lying

By
Aaron Lavack
on
19-07-2018

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By:
Timothy Snyder

Narrated by:
Timothy Snyder

Length: 1 hr and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
48

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
40

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
39

In the 20th century, European democracies collapsed into fascism, Nazism and communism. These were movements in which a leader or a party claimed to give voice to the people, promised to protect them from global existential threats, and rejected reason in favour of myth. European history shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary people can find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. History can familiarise, and it can warn.

5 out of 5 stars

The most important book I've ever read.

By
Sam
on
23-08-2017

Enlightenment Now

The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 19 hrs and 49 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
151

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
137

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
137

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, read by Arthur Morey. Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous - not just in the West but worldwide.

5 out of 5 stars

Essential listening

By
Timothy Lehmann
on
20-02-2018

How the Mind Works

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Mel Foster

Length: 26 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
37

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
35

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
35

In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

1 out of 5 stars

Not sure how this book became a best seller

By
Leigh
on
21-06-2017

The Better Angels of Our Nature

Why Violence Has Declined

By:
Steven Pinker

Narrated by:
Arthur Morey

Length: 36 hrs and 39 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
161

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
143

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
143

We’ve all had the experience of reading about a bloody war or shocking crime and asking, “What is the world coming to?” But we seldom ask, “How bad was the world in the past?” In this startling new book, the best-selling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era in our species’ existence.

5 out of 5 stars

Epic

By
Simon Webster
on
30-07-2015

The Moral Landscape

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
201

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
175

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
168

Sam Harris has discovered that most people, from secular scientists to religious fundamentalists, agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, science’s failure to address questions of meaning and morality has become the primary justification for religious faith.The underlying claim is that while science is the best authority on the workings of the physical universe, religion is the best authority on meaning, values, morality, and leading a good life.

5 out of 5 stars

Sam Harris is the tits.

By
Amazon Customer
on
19-09-2016

Lying

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
198

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
167

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
160

As it was in
Anna Karenina,
Madame Bovary, and
Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption - even murder and genocide - generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie. In
Lying, bestselling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie.

5 out of 5 stars

I am no longer capable of lying

By
Aaron Lavack
on
19-07-2018

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By:
Timothy Snyder

Narrated by:
Timothy Snyder

Length: 1 hr and 45 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
48

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
40

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
39

In the 20th century, European democracies collapsed into fascism, Nazism and communism. These were movements in which a leader or a party claimed to give voice to the people, promised to protect them from global existential threats, and rejected reason in favour of myth. European history shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary people can find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. History can familiarise, and it can warn.

5 out of 5 stars

The most important book I've ever read.

By
Sam
on
23-08-2017

Life 3.0

By:
Max Tegmark

Narrated by:
Rob Shapiro

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
51

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
41

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
41

Penguin Audio presents Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark, read by Rob Shapiro. We stand at the beginning of a new era. What was once science fiction is fast becoming reality, as AI transforms war, crime, justice, jobs and society - and even our very sense of what it means to be human. More than any other technology, AI has the potential to revolutionise our collective future - and there's nobody better situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor and cofounder of the Future of Life Institute, whose work has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.

5 out of 5 stars

Exploration of the future of AI and hence, life.

By
Amazon Customer
on
23-07-2018

Utopia for Realists

By:
Rutger Bregman

Narrated by:
Peter Noble

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
107

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
101

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
101

We live in a time of unprecedented upheaval, when technology and so-called progress have made us richer but more uncertain than ever before. We have questions about the future, society, work, happiness, family and money, and yet no political party of the right or left is providing us with answers. So, too, does the time seem to be coming to an end when we looked to economists to help us define the qualities necessary to create a successful society. We need a new movement.

5 out of 5 stars

Half a dozen chewy ideas

By
Stewart
on
05-04-2018

A Little History of Philosophy

By:
Nigel Warburton

Narrated by:
Kris Dyer

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
32

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
29

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
29

Philosophy begins with questions about the nature of reality and how we should live. These were the concerns of Socrates, who spent his days in the ancient Athenian marketplace asking awkward questions, disconcerting the people he met by showing them how little they genuinely understood. This engaging book introduces the great thinkers in Western philosophy and explores their most compelling ideas about the world and how best to live in it.

4 out of 5 stars

pas mal

By
xingwei
on
22-01-2018

The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far

Why Are We Here?

By:
Lawrence M. Krauss

Narrated by:
Lawrence Krauss

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
83

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
79

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
78

Internationally renowned, award-winning theoretical physicist,
New York Times bestselling author of
A Universe from Nothing, and passionate advocate for reason, Lawrence Krauss tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world of reality - a grand poetic vision of nature - and how we find our place within it.

5 out of 5 stars

Truly the Greatest story ever told so far

By
Andrew
on
18-04-2017

Marx: A Very Short Introduction

By:
Peter Singer

Narrated by:
Kyle Munley

Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
2

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
2

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
2

In
Marx: A Very Short Introduction, Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. He sees him as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. In plain English, he explains alienation, historical materialism, the economic theory of Capital, and Marx's ideas of communism, and concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy.

4 out of 5 stars

Good in description but with shortcomings in evaluation

By
yshoraka
on
15-05-2017

How to Change Your Mind

By:
Michael Pollan

Narrated by:
Michael Pollan

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
216

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
191

Story

5 out of 5 stars
190

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of How to Change Your Mind, written and read by Michael Pollan. When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counterculture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people?

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

By
James
on
14-06-2018

The Beginning of Infinity

Explanations That Transform the World

By:
David Deutsch

Narrated by:
Walter Dixon

Length: 20 hrs

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
57

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
50

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
48

A bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers. Throughout history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe.

4 out of 5 stars

Inspiring

By
Dirk Bertels
on
21-03-2017

Rationality: From AI to Zombies

By:
Eliezer Yudkowsky

Narrated by:
George Thomas,
Robert DeRoeck,
Aaron Silverbook

Length: 49 hrs and 40 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
4

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
4

Story

4 out of 5 stars
4

What does it actually mean to be rational? Not Hollywood-style "rational", where you forsake all human feeling to embrace Cold Hard Logic, but where you make good decisions, even when it's hard; where you reason well, even in the face of massive uncertainty; where you recognize and make full use of your fuzzy intuitions and emotions, rather than trying to discard them. In
Rationality: From AI to Zombies, Eliezer Yudkowsky explains the science underlying human irrationality with a mix of fables, argumentative essays, and personal vignettes.

Just Babies

The Origins of Good and Evil

By:
Paul Bloom

Narrated by:
Mike Chamberlain

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
8

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
6

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
6

From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society - and especially parents - to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In
Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality.

Waking Up

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
505

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
445

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
440

For the millions of people who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From bestselling author, neuroscientist, and “new atheist” Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the increasingly large numbers of people who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds.

5 out of 5 stars

Great insight into the mind

By
sam
on
10-03-2015

Democracy and Its Crisis

By:
A. C. Grayling

Narrated by:
Philip Franks

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Unabridged

Overall

0 out of 5 stars
0

Performance

0 out of 5 stars
0

Story

0 out of 5 stars
0

First he considers moments in history - Periclean Athens, the English Civil War, the American and French Revolutions, among them - in which the challenges we face today were first encountered and what solutions, however imperfect, were found. Then he lays bare the specific problems of democracy in the 21st century and maps out a set of urgently needed reforms. With the advent of authoritarian leaders and the simultaneous rise of populism, representative democracy appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place, yet it is this space that it must occupy, says Grayling, if a civilised society that looks after all its people is to flourish.

Free Will

By:
Sam Harris

Narrated by:
Sam Harris

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
176

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
144

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
144

A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.

5 out of 5 stars

genuinely thought provoking

By
Angelina Russo
on
25-05-2016

Publisher's Summary

Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and The Life You Can Save, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics.

Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words.

In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news.

In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer's thoughts on one of his favourite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast.

Provocative and original, these essays will challenge - and possibly change - your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions.

Critic Reviews

"Peter Singer might well be the most important philosopher alive. He is certainly one of the most enjoyable to read, and it's a joy to browse through this collection of his smart short essays. This is public philosophy at its best - clear, controversial, and deeply rational." (Paul Bloom, author of
Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil)

"An accessible introduction to the work of a philosopher who would not regard being described as 'accessible' as an insult.... Despite their brevity, the essays do not shirk the big moral questions." (
Economist)

Excellent Ethic-snacks for further reflections

Singer is a polished and effective communicator with a prodigious talent for bringing big issues down to bite-size dimensions.
The 82 essay format is because these are all re-prints of short (1000 word?) articles that have appeared in the various channels that publish Singer as a "columnist".
I found these to be great introductions to big issues...plenty to think about and a seduction to think more deeply!

Very good overview of Singer's philosophy

82 Essays, articles, columns, and opinion pieces by Singer from various different publications, over 2 decades and on a long list of different subjects. Singer discusses the ethical aspects of, e.g., vegetarianissm and animal rights,, abortion, health, euthanasia, public policy, environment, science, feminism, and many other topics. If you want to get a broad insight into Singer's philosophy, this book is for you. Each article is short, good to read and expertly narrated.

Interesting but a tad dry

The performance was not particularly enthralling, but with all the repeated themes and the slightly predictable writing style, it's no wonder why.

Any additional comments?

This was wonderful to consume, in terms of the ideas involved, but the nature of collected articles made it a bit repetitive at times (no matter the importance of the ideas). Mosquito Nets are something I am going to have top of mind for a very long time (and I think that's a good thing).

A good overview of Singer's views

A very accessible and well narrated overview of Singer's views on a wide range of ethical issues, from poverty alleviation and climate change to bioethics and privacy. This collection sacrifices depth in favour of breadth, drawing on a range of short essays that Singer has written for publications over the years.

Makes you think

An interesting series of essays. Well delivered exploring a diversity of topics. The rationale and logic in some places is exceptional but in others I sense some unconscious bias but this does not affect the overall quality of what is on offer

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Amazon Customer

22-06-2017

Perfect as an audiobook

Awesome. Incredibly digestible, readable and perfect as an audiobook. A definite recommendation for anyone interested in modern ethics.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Taake

21-05-2017

Exactly what the title says

These essays are brief and to the point, very interesting but perhaps mot the most in-depth journeys into Singer's thoughts (he has other books for that though!). Basically perfectly bite-sized Ethics which is remarkably well suited for this audio-based format!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sort by:

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Kindle Customer

17-08-2017

This book challenges ones ethics!

This book really challenges ones ethics. It made me think why am I doing the things I do when I have choice! As a lapsed vegetarian I am now back on track . Well narrated and stimulating topics. Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

David

03-08-2017

Some interesting ideas. Needs more depth.

Singer's talent for finding the ethical in everything shows through but his inherent utilitarian view grates at times. A nod to some other views would help but this is simply a collection of opinion columns.